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ADELAIDE, Australia, Australia (AFP) - South African captain Shaun Pollock intends fighting fire with fire in a sledging war with Australia when the unofficial Test cricket world championship getting underway here Friday.

Australia's mantle as the leading cricket nation is under attack from rivals South Africa and in the three matches the Australians will put the Proteas' mental toughness to the test.

Shane Warne has been talking up Australia's chances, saying they have the mental dominance over the Proteas in recent years.

Pollock knows that if his team beat Australia in a series for the first time since 1969-70 they will have to compete mentally as well as physically with Steve Waugh's experienced team.

"There's no doubt that if you want to perform well against Australia you have to be mentally strong," Pollock said Thursday.

"They will put you under as much pressure as anyone in world cricket.

"When you play against Australia it's hard cricket and you don't expect any favours from them so the guys had to come to terms with that even before this tour began.

"They're ready for it and know what to expect, we've played against them before and we don't expect anything to be different this time."

Australian cricketers believe they have mental supremacy over South Africa going back to the 1999 World Cup semi-final in England when the Proteas self-destructed after being in prime position to win.

There was the classic sledge when Steve Waugh reportedly said to Herschelle Gibbs after he had fumbled the Australian captain during that match, that he had just dropped the World Cup.

Pollock said he had left it up to his players individually how best to counter the expected war of words during play.

"Sledging is part of the game, if you can make a person uncomfortable out in the middle of the field then if not, why not?

"Obviously, there are certain laws you have to abide by, but in general making the guys out in the middle uncomfortable is probably a good tactic, so that's what we expect."

Pollock said his team had no hard and fast tactic to counter Australian sledging.

"Each guy knows what to expect and he's worked out how he's going to handle it, but once the bowler runs in with the ball you have to be quiet and concentrate on the ball."

Aggressive fast bowler Glenn McGrath has targeted South Africa's most experienced player Gary Kirsten, seeing it as gaining a psychological advantage for his team.

McGrath, Australia's most prolific wicket-taking bowler behind Shane Warne, has made a habit of making a bee-line for key batsmen in opposing teams. 

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